CSO Musicians Perform Free Concert for Refugees in Netherlands

On 4September at Buurtcentrum de Dreef in Utrecht, Netherlands, Classical Movements will present a concert for refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Northern Africa, featuring five members of the world-renowned, 122-year-old Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) during their six-country, 11-concert tour of Europe.

Hours before their full CSO concert with Music Director Louis Langrée at the TivoliVredenburg, yiolinists Charles Morley, Paul Patterson and Sylvia Mitchell will perform a 30-minute program of chamber music and jazz with pianist Michael Chertock and saxophone player James Bunte, followed by a short musical presentation from the Syrian refugees, themselves. The quintet of CSO musicians will then join their Syrian counterparts for what promises to be a most exciting exchange of musical ideas. A Q&A session with all involved parties—audience, Americans, refugees and their hosts, Welkom in Utrecht and Wijk & Co.—will end this delightful afternoon of international music-making and fellowship.

Classical Movements, the U.S. concert tour company that arranged the travel and accommodations for all 21 days of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s blockbuster European tour, as well as the orchestra’s tour of Asia in March as both the CSO under Mr. Langrée and the Cincinnati Pops conducted by John Morris Russell is a strong believer in and fervent supporter of music for refugees around the world. This coming Monday’s performance in Utrecht follows recent refugee outreach with Caritas Internationalis in Salzburg, Austria for Prague Summer Nights: Young Artists Music Festival; sponsorship of Pihcintu, an all-girl, all-refugee choir based in Portland, Maine to attend the Serenade! Washington, D.C. Choral Festival; benefit concerts by Yale Glee Club at Eleonas Refugee Camp in Athens, Greece; side-by-side fundraisers for SOS Village in Innsbruck, Austria with the Texas Boys Choir and Wiltener Sängerknaben; the appointment of Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh as Classical Movements’ first-ever Composer-in-Residence.

“For decades, Classical Movements has used the universal language of music to reach beyond boundaries, working tirelessly to share its powerful ability to provide transformative and healing experiences for people around the world,” says Classical Movements Founder and President Neeta Helms. “Under the present circumstances, we are grateful to bring the gift of music to a group of remarkable individuals, who have been forced to flee their homeland, separated from the comfort of their families and torn from the lives they once knew. Together with the CSO, we are honored to be able to offer these refugees the sound of hope during a time of discord.”

“The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s mission is to both seek and share inspiration,” says CSO Vice President of Communications Chris Pinelo. “This special concert not only aligns with that important mission, but also reinforces the orchestra’s core value to be Cincinnati’s ambassador.”

Charles Morey began playing the violin at the age of two. Leading a diverse musical life as violinist, composer, conductor and teacher, he regularly performs in the country’s most prestigious halls, including Kennedy Center, Severance Hall and Carnegie Hall. He has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the River Cities Symphony Orchestra, Seneca Chamber Orchestra, Marshall University Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Lexington Bach Festival Orchestra and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Morey received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was a student of William Preucil.

Paul Patterson plays violin in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which also performs as the Cincinnati Pops, and has been a featured soloist with both orchestras, performing on violin, five-string banjo, bouzouki, jazz guitar and mandolin. Before joining the CSO, he toured the country as a jazz violinist with bassist David Friesen and guitarist John Stowell. Paul is in the local band Fabien with French guitarist/composer Sylvain Acher. He also enjoys composing and performing instrumental music with his wife, CSO violinist Sylvia Mitchell.

Violinist Sylvia Mitchell joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 1983. Since then, she has been active performing chamber music, new music, jazz and folk music. She studied with Isadore Finkleman, Walter Levin and Dorothy Delay and has lived and played in a wide range of ensembles in Utah, Alaska, San Francisco, Oregon and Canada.

Pianist Michael Chertock made his debut at the age of 17, performing the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 with conductor Andrew Litton. Chertock has performed as soloist with the orchestras of Philadelphia, Montreal, Toronto, Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Naples and Indianapolis, among others. Chertock has garnered numerous awards at major competitions, among them top prizes in the 1989 Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition (Brahms Division), the 1991 World Piano Competition of the American Music Scholarship Association and the 1993 St. Charles International Piano Competition. Chertock currently serves as chair of the piano department at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

James Bunte earned degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder (BM, BME) and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (MM, DMA). An active concert saxophonist, Dr. Bunte has given recitals and masterclasses throughout the United States, France, Thailand, Scotland, Japan and Taiwan. A regular saxophonist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, he has recorded eight compact discs with the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops. Bunte is also an experienced jazz musician, having toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and he has performed with Ray Charles, Manhattan Transfer, Dick Hyman, John Pizzarelli and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.